After 134 games across five seasons at Vanderbilt and BGSU, senior guard Trey Thomas finally reached 1,000 career collegiate points in the Falcon’s 79-61 win over Buffalo at the Stroh Center on Tuesday night.
“It feels good, it feels great,” Thomas said postgame. “A lot of hard work over the years. So, I’m excited for it.”
Thomas reached the milestone with a right-handed layup in the first half. However, he only scored four points in the first 20 minutes of the contest.
The Toronto, Ontario, Canada, native exploded in the second half, scoring 18 points to finish with a game-high 22, tying his season-high. He shot 8-18 from the field, 3-8 from deep and 3-4 on free throws while tallying two assists, one steal and one block.
Thomas struggled shooting the ball for much of non-conference play.
In 12 games, he shot 33.7% from the field and 31% from deep. He also averaged 7.9 points, scoring double-digits just three times.
However, everything changed once the calendar flipped to 2025 and conference play began.
In four Mid-American Conference (MAC) games, Thomas is averaging 18.3 points per game while shooting 47.3% from the floor and 50% from beyond the arc. He has scored double-digit points in every game, including two 22-point performances.
“I’ve just been staying aggressive, staying confident. I got great teammates, like [Marcus Johnson], [DaJion Humphrey], just everybody,” Thomas said. “Great coaches that always lift me up through the struggles. So, just staying confident, staying aggressive is what I’ve been trying to focus on.”
Thomas took double-digit shot attempts just five times in 12 non-conference games. He has taken at least 11 shot attempts in all four MAC games.
The results have come as his aggressiveness on offense has increased.
“I just tell him, he’s got to be the baddest guard on the floor, like he’s just got to have that mentality, and you’re starting to really see it come out,” head coach Todd Simon said.
Thomas has endured an interesting up-and-down journey in his two seasons at Bowling Green.
“He’s been here for two years. He was so fantastic last summer and fall, and that Friday before our first game, he goes down with a significant injury, works his way back, and kind of plays last year not at full strength,” Simon said. “Comes back this year and saw the glimpses of it. He had stretches where he was dominant in Europe, and we saw some glimpses of it, and I think it just needed that little get over the hump, and I think he’s there now.”
After draining 13 three-pointers in the past four games, Thomas is currently tied for ninth in the MAC with 31 three-pointers this season and is averaging 10.5 points per game, the second-best mark in his career.
Next, the Falcons will stay home to battle the Eastern Michigan Eagles on Saturday, Jan. 18. Falcon Media Sports Network’s Artie Abrego and Andrew Smith will have the call on Falcon Radio, beginning at 1:45 for pregame and 2 p.m. for tip-off.
